Press

Entrepreneurship: Nature or Nurture?
NUS AlumNUS
2019 Oct 1

Quest Ventures Goh Yiping shares her journey with AlumNUS.

“NUS alumni entrepreneurs share their personal motivations, tribulations and insights on navigating the start-up ecosystem.

Yiping: It’s really not as binary as whether it is nature or nurture. It is both. I am probably born to want to be an entrepreneur — having helped out at my parents’ hawker stall since I was eight, and growing on a farm set up by my grandmother, whom I look up to. I have that raw drive to succeed but I kind of never knew what to do, or where to even start. Through the NOC programme, we saw a different degree of polish when it comes to entrepreneurship. It also offered us great courses for training with the greatest minds. Being forced to come up with ideas within a short time frame also sharpened us and showed what we are made of.” More

ทรู ดิจิทัล พาร์ค โชว์ศักยภาพศูนย์กลางนวัตกรรมดิจิทัล จัดงานสัมมนาเทคโนโลยีแห่งปี T.O.P. 2019
BrickinfoTV.com
2019 Sep 18

Quest Ventures James Tan, in his capacity as Deputy Chairman of the Action Community for Entrepreneurship (ACE Singapore), officially opened the True Digital Park – ACE Singapore Centre in Bangkok, Thailand, with Thanasorn Jaidee, President of TDPK.

ทรู ดิจิทัล พาร์ค โชว์ศักยภาพศูนย์กลางนวัตกรรมดิจิทัล จัดงานสัมมนาเทคโนโลยีแห่งปี T.O.P.2019 – Togetherness of Possibilities รวมพลคนในวงการเทคโนโลยีทั้งไทยและเทศ ตอกย้ำระบบนิเวศสมบูรณ์แบบครบวงจรสำหรับสตาร์ทอัพ

ดร.สมคิด จาตุศรีพิทักษ์ รองนายกรัฐมนตรี และ นายพุทธิพงษ์ ปุณณกันต์ รัฐมนตรีว่าการกระทรวงดิจิทัลเพื่อเศรษฐกิจและสังคม ร่วมงานสัมมนาเทคโนโลยีครั้งใหญ่แห่งปี T.O.P.2019 – Togetherness of Possibilities โดยมีนายศุภชัย เจียรวนนท์ ประธานคณะผู้บริหารเครือเจริญโภคภัณฑ์ และประธานกรรมการ บมจ.ทรู คอร์ปอเรชั่น ให้การต้อนรับ โดยทรู ดิจิทัล พาร์ค ศูนย์กลางนวัตกรรมดิจิทัลแห่งแรกในไทยที่ใหญ่ที่สุดในภูมิภาคเอเชียตะวันออกเฉียงใต้

T.O.P.2019 – Togetherness of Possibilities โอกาสสำคัญที่จะได้พบกับกูรูและผู้เชี่ยวชาญด้านเทคโนโลยีจากบริษัทชั้นนำและวงการสตาร์ทอัพจากทั้งในและต่างประเทศ อาทิ” More

Deeptech dominates startup landscape
Singapore Business Review
2019 Sep 04

Venture capitalists are looking to inject more funding into deeptech as the government strengthens its support system amidst a global tech shift.

Russ Neu, venture partner for impact at Quest Ventures, said that their firm has been tracking and investing in childtech startups, even when the vertical is below the radar of investors. In comments related to Fintech, he added, “Different VCs have different mandates so whilst there are VCs that specialise in fintech, there are certainly VCs who avoid this sector,” Neu said. More

Coaching: One of the best investments you can make
ConnectOne
2019 Aug 30

Self-improvement goes hand-in-hand with feedback; that’s when working with a coach can be helpful. Coaches help to move you towards action and create a structure tailored to you. They are meant to provide honest feedback and should act as a sounding board.

Coaching in a startup is a multi-layered, cascading process that starts with the top. Founders typically seek coaching to be better leaders. Coaching is almost necessary for the survival of the startup. “Founders have a huge task of shouldering the vision of the company, every single day, regardless of the ups and downs, and more so when times are down. They often find themselves lonely in this journey but still need to muster the energy and resilience to be persistently creative and effective.” points out Goh Yiping, startup coach and partner, Quest Ventures. More

ACE 5th Anniversary celebratory message
ACE Singapore
2019 Aug 20

Quest Ventures James Tan, in his capacity as Deputy Chairman of the Action Community for Entrepreneurship (ACE Singapore), celebrated its 5th anniversary in a celebratory video.

“ACE has supported more than 2,000 startups through various programmes, engagements, grants and deals. By working with our key startup ecosystem stakeholders, we have together built a strong and vibrant ecosystem that help startups to flourish,” said Edmas Neo, CEO of ACE.

“Through ACEIC (ACE Internationalisation Centre), numerous local and international startups have participated in our ACE Market Access Programme. We have also gone on to the international stage through participating in overseas conferences and pavilions, and built a connected ecosystem with access to 16 cities and 25,000 startups,” said James Tan. More

Hệ sinh thái startup tại Singapore tìm chất xúc tác mới ở Việt Nam
BÁO ĐIỆN TỬ THỜI BÁO CHỨNG KHOÁN VIỆT NAM
2019 Aug 04

“Chiến lược tiếp cận startup khôn ngoan của Singapore là mở rộng Liên minh kết nối 10 trung tâm đổi mới sáng tạo trên toàn cầu, tìm chất xúc tác mới ở Việt Nam.

Giữa tháng 7, Enterprise Singapore ra mắt mạng lưới Liên Minh Đổi Mới Sáng Tạo Toàn Cầu Singapore tại TP.HCM. Thông qua một loạt các ký kết quan trọng giữa các đại diện tài chính (Quỹ Quest Ventures), trung tâm hỗ trợ khởi nghiệp (Sihub) của hai bên, người Singapore thể hiện mối quan tâm rất lớn đến thị trường khởi nghiệp Việt Nam.” More

BAZAAR’S 2019 Power List: Goh Yiping
Harper’s BAZAAR Singapore
2019 Aug 02

“Meet BAZAAR’s league of extraordinary women. Singapore visionaries under 40, they are paving the way in the tech and digital spheres and proving that the future is not only female, the future is now.

Redefining venture capitalism with her determination, Goh shakes up the male-dominated ivory towers of private equity to transform struggling digital start-ups into viable business opportunities through sheer persistence and hard work. Humorous and self-aware, Goh describes how she’s evolved from a trend-spotter into someone more interested in crafting a legacy of impact.” More

Singapore mở rộng Liên minh Đổi mới Sáng tạo Toàn cầu tại TPHCM
Saigon Online
2019 Jul 23

“Enterprise Singapore cùng với Trung tâm Sáng kiến Hỗ trợ Đổi mới Sáng tạo và Khởi nghiệp (Saigon Innovation Hub2 – SIHUB) trực thuộc Sở KH-CN TPHCN và Quỹ Quest Ventures 3 đã ký kết một Biên bản Ghi nhớ hợp tác nhằm thúc đẩy hợp tác giữa các start-ups và các doanh nghiệp vừa và nhỏ (SME) giữa Singapore và Việt Nam. Với Biên bản Ghi nhớ hợp tác này, ba cơ quan, tổ chức sẽ phối hợp tổ chức các chương trình nhằm giới thiệu các start-ups Singapore tới hệ sinh thái khởi nghiệp tại TPHCM và kết nối các start-ups này tới các đối tác, nhà đầu tư và khách hàng tại Việt Nam.” More

Singapore start-ups set for Ho Chi Minh City
The ASEAN Post
2019 Jul 21

“Ho Chi Minh City is the third ASEAN city to join the GIA network after Jakarta and Bangkok. The eight other cities in the network are Beijing, Shanghai and Suzhou (China), Berlin and Munich (Germany), San Francisco (United States), Tokyo (Japan) and Paris (France).

As part of the MoU signed between Enterprise Singapore, Singaporean venture fund Quest Ventures and the Vietnam government-linked Saigon Innovation Hub, the three partners will organise curated programmes to introduce Singapore start-ups to the innovation ecosystem in Ho Chi Minh City and connect them to partners, investors and customers in Vietnam. This will help Singapore start-ups set up, test and commercialise their solutions; form business partnerships in HCMC and Vietnam; and support Vietnamese start-ups to set up in Singapore.” More

TP HCM gia nhập mạng lưới khởi nghiệp đổi mới sáng tạo toàn cầu
VnExpress
2019 Jul 19

“Lễ ký kết ghi nhớ hợp tác giữa Saigon Innovation Hub (SIHUB) và Enterprise Singapore – Cơ quan bảo vệ phát triển doanh nghiệp trực thuộc Bộ Thương mại và Công nghiệp Singapore diễn ra hôm qua (18/7).

Đại diện từ Singapore công bố mở rộng mạng lưới Liên minh Đổi mới sáng tạo toàn cầu (GIA) sang TP HCM. Thông qua quỹ đầu tư mạo hiểm Quest Ventures có trụ sở tại Singapore, Enterprise Singapore và SIHUB sẽ tăng cường hợp tác giữa startup của Singapore và Việt Nam.” More

Liên minh Đổi mới Sáng tạo Toàn cầu mở ra nhiều cơ hội cho startup và doanh nghiệp Việt Nam
TechTimes Vietnam
2019 Jul 19

“Liên minh Đổi mới Sáng tạo Toàn cầu mở ra nhiều cơ hội cho startup và doanh nghiệp Việt Nam

Enterprise Singapore (cơ quan chính phủ trực thuộc Bộ Thương Mại và Công Nghiệp Singapore có vai trò hỗ trợ sự phát triển của các doanh nghiệp Singapore) cùng với Trung Tâm Sáng Kiến Hỗ Trợ Đổi Mới Sáng Tạo và Khởi Nghiệp (Saigon Innovation Hub – SIHUB) trực thuộc Sở Khoa học và Công nghệ TP. Hồ Chí Minh và Quỹ Quest Ventures đã ký kết một Biên Bản Ghi Nhớ Hợp Tác nhằm thúc đẩy hợp tác giữa các startup và các doanh nghiệp vừa và nhỏ (SME) giữa Singapore và Việt Nam.

Phát biểu tại buổi lễ ra mắt, ông Huỳnh Kim Tước, Giám Đốc Điều Hành SIHUB nhấn mạnh “Sự hợp tác giữa Enterprise Singapore, SIHUB và Quest Ventures là con đường tối ưu hoá nguồn lực giữa hai quốc gia nhằm tạo ra sản phẩm, dịch vụ tham gia thị trường toàn cầu”.” More

Singapore and Vietnam to collaborate to boost technology start ups
OpenGov Asia
2019 Jul 19

“Enterprise Singapore announced the expansion of the Global Innovation Alliance (GIA) network to Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) yesterday, helping Singapore technology startups move into the emerging innovation scene in Vietnam, boosting startup collaborations between Singapore and Vietnam, and creating more internship opportunities for Singapore students in startups and innovative companies in Vietnam.

Enterprise Singapore, Quest Ventures and Saigon Innovation Hub (SIHUB) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to boost collaborations between Singapore startups and small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), and their counterparts in Vietnam. Under the MOU, the three partners will organise curated programmes to introduce Singapore startups to the innovation ecosystem in HCMC, and connect them to partners, investors and customers in Vietnam.

This will help Singapore startups set up, test-bed and commercialise their solutions, as well as form business partnerships in HCMC and Vietnam. It will also support Vietnamese startups to set up in Singapore.” More

TP.HCM gia nhập Liên minh đổi mới sáng tạo toàn cầu
Báo Đầu tư điện tử
2019 Jul 18

TP.HCM gia nhập Liên minh đổi mới sáng tạo toàn cầu

Enterprise Singapore – cơ quan chính phủ trực thuộc Bộ Thương mại và Công nghiệp Singapore vừa chính thức mở rộng Liên minh đổi mới sáng tạo toàn cầu (Global Innovation Alliance- GIA) tại TP.HCM. Liên minh này nhằm kết nối các start-up công nghệ của Singapore đến Việt Nam, cũng như tạo ra nhiều sự trao đổi ở cấp độ sinh viên, gồm các cơ hội thực tập cho các sinh viên từ Singapore tại các start-up, công ty tại Việt Nam.

Cụ thể, Enterprise Singapore cùng với Trung tâm sáng kiến Hỗ trợ đổi mới sáng tạo và khởi nghiệp (Saigon Innovation Hub – SIHUB) thuộc Sở Khoa học và Công nghệ TP.HCM và Quỹ Quest Ventures vừa ký kết một Biên bản ghi nhớ hợp tác nhằm thúc đẩy hợp tác giữa các start-up cùng doanh nghiệp vừa và nhỏ (SMEs) giữa Singapore và Việt Nam.” More

企发局扩大计划 助本地企业进军越南
Lianhe Zaobao
2019 Jul 18

新加坡企业发展局（ESG）把全球创新联盟（Global Innovation Alliance）网络拓展至越南，多达10家本地企业接下来能更容易与快速地进军越南市场。

企发局于星期四（18日）在胡志明市举办推介仪式，并指出这将加强两地起步公司之间的合作，同时为学生当来更多海外实习机会。

企发局会与求索创投（Quest Ventures）和胡志明市创新中心（SIHUB）签署备忘录，让两地企业能进军彼此的市场。

这三家机构将制定计划，并通过三个阶段让起步公司走进越南。它们首先会为起步公司进行配对，寻找越南导师。” More

Ho Chi Minh City joins Singapore’s network of innovation hubs
The Business Times
2019 Jul 18

“STARTUPS in Singapore hoping to tap into Vietnam’s emerging innovation scene can now get a leg-up with the expansion of the Global Innovation Alliance (GIA) to Ho Chi Minh City. The GIA is a network of local and overseas partners in major innovation hubs.

Besides boosting startup collaborations between Singapore and Vietnam, the addition of Ho Chi Minh City to the existing network of 11 cities will create more internship opportunities for Singapore students in startups and innovative companies in Vietnam, said Enterprise Singapore on Thursday.

Enterprise Singapore, Singapore-based venture capital firm Quest Ventures and Vietnam government-backed agency, Saigon Innovation Hub (SIHUB), will organise curated programmes to connect Singapore startups to partners, investors and customers in Vietnam.” More

RISE 2019のスタートアップコンペティション「PITCH」の優勝は、海運コンテナ貨物管理を最適化する「Haulio」が獲得 #RISEConf
The Bridge
2019 Jul 11

Haulio wins RISE 2019 startup competition.

“Haulio は、この海運会社と牽引業者をマッチングするプラットフォームで、コンテナの牽引需要に対して、そのスケジュールでで手の空いている牽引業者をアサインすることができる。CEO の実家が30年間にわたり物流事業を営んできたこともあり、この業界のニッチな需要に精通していることがチームの強み。Haulio のサービスを開始した2017年からの2年間で、シンガポールのコンテナ牽引市場の80％を獲得した。

これまでに15万TEU（TEU はコンテナ扱量を扱う単位で、1TEUが20フィートコンテナ換算を表す）を取り扱っている。シードラウンドで、シンガポールの港湾会社 PSA International の CVC である PSA Unboxed、500 Startups、Quest Ventures、運送会社 ComfortDelGro などから80万3,000米ドルを資金調達済。世界展開に向け提携できる企業を求めている。” More

Xfers To Integrate Blockchain, Smart Contracts
CoinJournal
2019 Jun 18

“Xfers, a Singapore-based payment processing gateway offering credit card processing and Internet banking transfers, will leverage Zilliqa’s smart contract functionalities to bring “new innovations” to its Xfers’ suite of enterprise solutions, which include support for payments, disbursements, regulatory compliance and a built-in digital wallet.

Xfers is a graduate of Y Combinator’s summer 2015 class and counts amongst its backers Challenger, Quest Ventures, 500 Startups, Golden Gate Ventures, as well as angel investors Eduardo Saverin.” More

Arabnet Beirut 10th edition
AMEinfo
2019 Jun 14

“ArabNet Beirut X wrapped up in success on June 13. The 10th edition brought together 4000+ attendees and 250+ speakers from across Lebanon and the world.

Quest Ventures participated in “a panel titled “International Perspective: Global Trends Shaping the Tech Sector” in which international investors gathered on stage to share their insights on what’s hype and what’s here to stay, the hottest startups they’re investing in today, and the trends they expect to see in the near future.

The speakers included James Tan, Managing Partner, Quest Ventures; Richard Harris, Partner and Head of EMEA, G Squared; Tugce Ergul, Partner, Angel Labs; Ihor Ovcharenko, Founder & CEO, Scal8R; and Kartik Varma, Managing Director, Techstars.” More

Vietnamese startups connect with peers in world
Saigon Online
2019 Jun 10

“The program ‘Runway to the World’ is designed to connect local and international startups expand their market globally and introduce Vietnamese startups to foreign countries. Right after the launch of the program, it has produced beneficial effect with more and more arrival of international startups to the S-shaped country to seek opportunities.

In the first year of the program, in November, 2018, it welcomed Korean Shinhan Future’s Lab, Malaysian Global Innovation & Creativity Center (MaGIC) and Singaporean Quest Ventures. SIHUB also received proposals from startups in Thailand, Finland, Australia, the US and Switzerland.” More

Startup Hàn Quốc đem nhiều giải pháp kinh doanh đến Việt Nam
Tuổi Trẻ Online
2019 Jun 03

“Ông Huỳnh Kim Tước – giám đốc điều hành SIhub, đơn vị trực thuộc Sở Khoa học và công nghệ TP.HCM – cho rằng: “Runway To The World đóng vai trò như một điểm kích hoạt, giúp hệ sinh thái khởi nghiệp bộc lộ những ưu, nhược điểm, từ đó rút ra bài học kinh nghiệm và điều chỉnh phù hợp cho cả hệ sinh thái”.

Tính đến nay, chương trình của Sihub đã có các đối tác lớn như Shinhan Future’s Lab (Hàn Quốc) – trực thuộc Ngân hàng Shinhan,Trung tâm phát triển khởi nghiệp và đổi mới sáng tạo toàn cầu Magic (Malaysia), công ty đầu tư mạo hiểm Quest Ventures (Singapore).” More

ArabNet Beirut 2019 To Celebrate 10 Years Of Tech And Innovation In June
Entrepreneur Middle East
2019 May 26

Entrepreneurs, it’s time to step up. ArabNet Beirut 2019, one of the most prominent conferences focused on tech, business and innovation in the MENA region, is back to gather entrepreneurs, investors, industry leaders and government officials. Now on its 10th consecutive year, held under the Patronage of His Excellency President of the Republic of Lebanon General Michel Aoun, this year’s edition of ArabNet Beirut will take place on June 12-13, at the Seaside Arena, hosting 3,000+ attendees and more than 250 regional and international experts and speakers.

Its lineup of speakers is worth a look too: Richard Harris, Partner and Head of EMEA, G Squared; James Tan, Managing Partner, Quest Ventures; Scott Cohen, Chief Innovation Officer, Warner Music Group; Lars Silberbauer, Head of MTV Digital Studios, Senior Vice President at Viacom; Viola Llewellyn, Co-founder & President, Ovamba; and Urszula Bieganska, Head of Marketing – Middle East Africa, LEGO Group, among others.” More

Garage takes BT’s brand of hard-nosed journalism to startups
The Business Times
2019 May 07

The Business Times is revving up its startup coverage with Garage, a portal that provides news and analysis about the region’s booming startup ecosystem.

Located at bt.sg/garage, the new vertical brings BT’s speciality – the investors’ perspective – to coverage of startup news and issues aimed at existing readers and new ones interested in the startup space.

The product has already caught the attention of big names in the startup ecosystem.

James Tan, managing partner at Quest Ventures, said: “Garage by The Business Times looks set to be the authoritative voice on the startups scene in Singapore. Whether venture or impact investments, large exits or angel cheques, its in-depth coverage of the stories that matter is why we look forward to the column every day.” More

Unicorns deploy funding into corporate venture funds
Singapore Business Review
2019 May 06

“For 2019, the SVCA said that regulatory changes, such as recent extensions for tax incentives and new investment flexibility for structuring of funds (for instance, the new Variable Capital Company (VCC) legal structure) may further encourage investment into Southeast Asia and for VC fund managers to operate out of Singapore.

However, Khor Qianyi, Senior Analyst and Head of ESG at Quest Ventures, warned that uncertainty around the new regulations, specifically the VCC, which was meant to increase VC activity in Singapore, poses a challenge for VC firms along with the lack of later-stage funding from Series B onwards.

“The industry, including technology media, needs to move away from associating large deals with large market implications,” according to Qianyi. “Whilst small deals do not sound exciting, it is important to track them when they are still starting up. As Jack Ma said, ‘Small guys become big guys.’” More

创投领域少数民族 求索创投吴谊平
联合早报
2019 May 05

置身男性居主导的创投领域，求索创投37岁女性合伙人吴谊平可说是这个行业的「少数民族」。

《福布斯》今年公布的全球最佳100创投人榜单里，女性仅12名，去年更只有区区九人。吴谊平认为，女性能为创投领域提供不同的视野和看法，希望更多女性加入这个行业；她指出，职场氛围显示，现在正是女性加入创投领域的大好时机。

她说：“创投领域应该有更多女性，她们可提供不同的视野和看法。” 她指出，女性对关乎女性的课题和领域有更深刻的理解，她们也往往能设身处地去思考并聆听。

求索创投所投资的公司中，37%拥有至少一名女性创办人，例如Style Theory、42Race、Telepod、 Watchoverme和Shopback等。More

*SCAPE’s HubQuarters Fellowship to turn ideas into next great startup
The Independent
2019 May 01

Quest Ventures Senior Analyst and Head of ESG Khor Qianyi was a member of the jury at the Demo Day.

“At the inaugural *SCAPE HubQuarters Fellowship Demo Day, young companies spent the evening pitching to a host of judges, mentors and audience members to further validate whether or not their idea can grow into the next sexy startup story.

A major reason why these companies were in their infancy has to do with the mis-sion of *SCAPE, which is a platform designed to empower people in Singapore’s un-der the age of 35. For a lot of participants, *SCAPE became the necessary support group to give them confidence to chase their startup dreams.

The *SCAPE event was the conclusion of a 6-month-long fellowship programme that hosted 21 qualifying teams across 22 sessions to help them get their business off the ground. 10 of them were pitching at the Demo Day.” More

Glife raises seed capital to take farm food direct to forks
The Business Times
2019 Apr 22

Glife received pre-seed funding from Quest Ventures, and rolled out a soft-launch of its platform’s farm-to-table operations in Singapore in May 2018. Since its inception, the portal has provided more than 150 restaurants with direct access to quality fresh produce from farmers within their ecosystem. “We actually have a better cost structure and are being more price competitive to get customers in,” Mr Chou said. More

求索创投首次对外募资，其创始人、窝窝团联创陈中认为东南亚电商和农业科技仍大有可为
36Kr
2019 Apr 01

自2010年以来，风险投资公司求索创投 Quest Ventures 一直致力于投资东南亚地区的电子商务和互联网经济初创企业，其参投的知名企业包括“东南亚闲鱼”二手拍卖网站 Carousell、新加坡二手车交易平台 Carro 和东南亚电商返现平台 ShopBack。

过去很长一段时间里，Quest 都不需要对外募资。Quest 是幸运的，因为它有一个教父——James Tan。在中国呆了近十年后，James Tan 出售了他在电子商务公司窝窝团的股份，收拾行李，回到了祖国新加坡。

Tan 的得意之作便是 Quest Ventures，如今他在该公司担任管理合伙人。一直以来，出售窝窝团股份的收益让 Quest 得以轻松运营。但 Quest 还有更多野心，需要更多的资本。Quest 拟设立一只5000万至1亿美元的基金，用于投资东南亚初期阶段的数字经济初创企业。 More

Islamic digital economy a “most surprisingly popular tech vertical”
KrASIA
2019 Mar 26

“One of the sectors that we have invested in and are tracking closely is the broad Islamic digital economy, which encompasses everything that we have in the ‘general’ digital economy but with an adherence to Islamic principles.”

(Quest Ventures’ James) Tan is specifically interested in how these rules apply to lending.

According to a 2017 report from IMF, there is a funding gap of USD 80 billion for small and medium enterprises in Indonesia. While SMEs make up more than 95% of the number of businesses in Indonesia, less than 15% of them have access to bank financing. This lack of access is often the result of a lack of fixed asset as collateral, a lack of operating history, poor operational efficiency, or poor financial reporting.

With the entry of multiple international players in P2P financing and rampant unethical business practices, Tan says, “A deeper adherence to Islamic principles will be helpful in weeding out unsavoury players in the world’s largest moderate Islamic market.” More

Bike-sharing firms on “sad retreat”
Singapore Business Review
2019 Mar 18

… Financial difficulties in its home market may have prompted Mobike to rethink its global ambitions, said Yunming Wang, venture partner at Quest Ventures. An earlier report from TechCrunch revealed that Mobike reportedly laid off its entire Asia-Pacific operations team as part of its efforts to trim down its regional presence and focus on its Chinese operations.

“The Singapore bike-sharing scene is now dead. Where there was untidiness on the streets, there was however last-mile convenience. With the industry all but dead, the streets are now tidy but the convenience is gone,” said Wang, referring to the indiscriminate parking of shared bikes in Singapore which could be traced as the source of Ofo’s woes.

“For an industry that was widely hailed as one of modern China’s four great inventions – the others being high-speed rail, Alipay and e-commerce – this is a sad retreat and has important lessons for startups to learn,” he added. More

Food ripe for disruption in Asia
Deal Street Asia
2019 Mar 12

According to James Tan, managing partner of Quest Ventures, there are gaping holes in the food supply chain ripe for venture investments to solve and make more efficient.

Tan said: “After planting, where do they go? Do farmers plant at volume or not? We need to get the supply chain ready first…” More

5 Singapore VCs Who Are Supporting The AI Startup Community
Analytics India Magazine
2019 Mar 12

Quest Ventures made the short list of VCs that are investing into artificial intelligence.

“Based in Singapore and China, Quest Ventures is a leading venture fund for companies in the tech sector, especially those promising high scalability. It has been focussing on an overreaching digital commerce strategy across industries such as e-commerce, entertainment, logistics and more, using artificial intelligence. It has invested in startups such as Nurture.ai, which is a platform dedicated to making AI research more efficient, reproducible and accessible.” More

A drink with… Goh Yiping, Partner at Quest Ventures
Singapore Tatler
2019 Mar 11

Drawing on her entrepreneurial experience, the venture capitalist is helping to groom the next generation of start-up leaders.

Goh Yiping’s mind is constantly running. Her thoughts are mostly about new business opportunities or ways to help build start-ups. “I cannot sit still, even when I’m on holiday,” says the 37-year-old entrepreneur, who has founded several technology-driven companies.

While still running All Deals Asia and taking on the development of Lippo’s e-commerce business, Matahari Mall, the Generation T 2018 honouree decided to become a venture capitalist. “I enjoyed being a founder and being at the front line of running a business, but I started to wonder how I can make a greater impact and harness my connections and experience to help others build their businesses.” More

Still plenty of room to play in SEA’s digital economy, says Quest Ventures’ Tan
DealStreetAsia
2019 Mar 10

Since 2010, Singapore-based venture capital firm Quest Ventures has been discreetly investing in e-commerce and internet economy startups in the region. Its portfolio today includes prominent names such as Carousell, Carro and ShopBack.

Through all this time, it has not needed to fundraise – until now.

Quest is lucky. It has a godfather – James Tan.

But Quest is nurturing big ambitions, requiring bigger capital.

The VC is now targeting an open fund of $50-100 million to invest in early-stage digital economy startups in Southeast Asia. It plans to invest in about 100 companies across the fund’s 10-year tenure, with ticket sizes between $500,000 and $1 million, and scope for potential follow-on investments. More

Step into your power: An open letter to the next female startup founder
The Business Times
2019 Mar 08

In an op-ed for The Business Times to celebrate International Women’s Day, 42Race’s cofounder and CEO Zhou Mi gave praise to Quest Ventures.

“I am first and foremost in the role of a co-founder, the leader of my team. My responsibility is to provide a better future for those that follow me. There were many times where I doubted my capability and direction. Those doubts however, stemmed from my limited knowledge and understanding of business strategies and industry. I am blessed to have amazing mentors (a shout out to James Tan from Quest Ventures) and fellow co-founders from Oddle, Carousell and Xfers where I can share my problems with and whom I can learn from. I do not feel limited to reach out to them because of my gender.” More

How Goh Yiping is Levelling the Playing Field in Venture Capital
High Net Worth
2019 Mar 08

Goh Yiping doesn’t play by the rules.

Starting in 2004, the serial entrepreneur founded her first company, World Indigo, at the age of 22 while juggling academic responsibilities. In spite of her inexperience as a business neophyte, her inaugural enterprise raised a laudable $350,000 in seed funding, and won the National [email protected] Business Plan Competition.

Bitten by the start-up bug, she went on to establish AllDealsAsia at 28, which grew to become the top deal aggregator in the region. Displaying acute foresight and a forward-thinking spirit, she even introduced online customer service to the platform at a time when websites were still slow to adopt live chats. Fast forward four years, AllDealsAsia was acquired by Lippo Group, which kick-started her next venture, Matahari Mall – an e-commerce site that would rise to the top as a multi-million dollar business.

In 2016, the real estate graduate turned e-commerce doyenne switched gears and joined Quest Ventures as a venture partner. More

Quest Ventures raising two new funds totalling up to US$120m
The Business Times
2019 Mar 04

The Business Times of Singapore took a deeper look at the latest funds from Quest Ventures.

“Venture capital firm Quest Ventures is raising two funds – an open fund of US$50 million to US$100 million, and an impact fund of up to US$20 million – The Business Times has learnt.

Quest, a seed stage and Series A investor, is known for cutting first cheques for Carousell, 99.co and Shopback. This is the first time that the firm is raising capital from limited partners (LPs).

Mr Tan believes the time is right to launch the two funds because the right people are in place. Quest recently appointed serial entrepreneur Goh Yiping and industry veteran Jeffrey Seah as partners. They were previously venture partners since 2016 and 2017, respectively.

The primary markets that Quest is targeting are Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam, while the secondary markets are Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and the Philippines. More

Quest Ventures launches $50m early-stage SEA fund, promotes two to partners
DealStreetAsia, e27, Tech In Asia, KrAsia, Yahoo News, and more
2019 Mar 01

Quest Ventures is launching a $50-million fund targeting early-stage, digital commerce startups in Southeast Asia. The Singapore-based venture capital has also named two new partners – Goh Yiping and Jeffrey Seah – who have been venture partners with the firm since 2016 and 2017 respectively.

Goh is the former CEO and co-founder of All Deals Asia. She was also the chief product officer and co-founder of MatahariMall.com, an Indonesian fashion e-commerce site backed by Lippo Group. The firm commented that Goh’s appointment is fresh air in the industry where “female representation at investment funds is still sorely lacking”.

Seah was Southeast Asia CEO at Starcom Mediavest Group (SMG), and former CEO of Mindshare where he oversaw the Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesian markets. “Quest Ventures has an impressive track record in identifying startups that have scaled extensively in Southeast Asia across numerous verticals. I look forward to bring my experience in accelerating ideas with corporations to Quest Ventures,” said Seah. More

Quest Ventures shares playbook on implementing ESG
Money FM 89.3
2019 Feb 20

Money FM 89.3 interviews Quest Ventures to find out what our Environmental, Social and Governance focus means.

Senior analyst and Head of ESG Khor Qianyi touched on our approach which includes discovery, environment scanning, and implementation. With the broad range of focus areas defined by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, Quest Ventures’ work focuses on the base of the pyramid and the emerging middle class in Southeast Asia, among others. More

Age is no issue when raising funding from Quest Ventures
The New Paper
2019 Feb 09

Haikini’s founder and CEO Beckie Liu was interviewed by The New Paper on her journey to create functional, stylish and affordable surf swimwear.

“However, being young meant that one big hurdle was funding.

While she was able to persuade her mother to fund some prototypes in the early days of the brand, she was also able to secure venture capital in November last year.

“Quest Ventures invests in early stage start-ups – I was approached by a friend who was working there. They encouraged me to pitch for funding.”

The process helped her overcome two hurdles. Funding and her lack of self-confidence. While Miss Liu was nervous about presenting the business to an investor, she found the strength to overcome it.” More

Quest Ventures help social organisations create impact
The Business Times
2019 Feb 07

Quest Ventures senior analyst Khor Qianyi said: “There can be a very nice blend of impact investing when it comes to these few things. It can solve not only the capital problem but fund companies and continuously do good work and ensure that they are financially sustainable.”

ESG scores are tools for sustainable investing and the approach looks at the environmental, social or governance risks that can potentially limit the investment returns when it comes to committing the initial outlay. With the ESG approach, Quest Ventures aims to support passionate founders in solving social issues, not only with capital but with their network and resources – such as mentorships and partnerships – which can help them scale their impact. More

Architecture in religion – towards eco-friendly, socio-economic mosques
IslamiCity.org
2019 Jan 16

Rushdi Siddiqui, mentor at Quest Ventures, writes on the eco-friendly socio-economic Mosque at IslamiCity.org – The Global Muslim ECommunity.

“The Mosque is the epicenter of the community and an important learning place. To amplify the environmental stewardship responsibilities, there is no better place to teach than by way of an example of an eco-friendly Mosque.

Thus, the time is now to build, convert, and/or upgrade within the spirit of Quba Mosque. A solid foundation built on not just environmental impact statement, but, more importantly, on operating environmental considerations filled with learnings, activities, discipline, self-sufficiencies, and connected to youth by way of technology and resulting socio-economic activities.” More

Eatsy raises new funding
DealStreetAsia
2019 Jan 15

Eatsy, a food ordering and payment mobile app, on Tuesday announced that it has raised $550,000 in a seed funding round led by early-stage venture capital firm East Ventures.

The startup has raised more than $1 million in funding from investors including East Ventures, Quest Ventures, Wee Teng Wen (Lo&Behold) and the three co-founders of RedMart.

“With the access to new capital, we look forward to further development in technology, product expansion, and acquisition of new talents in 2019. Furthermore, Eatsy plans to cement its position as a leader in the mobile order-ahead and pick-up space in Singapore” said Eatsy co-founder and CEO Shaun Heng. More